Aluminum receptacle with threaded neck

ABSTRACT

An aluminum container is comprised of a base portion, a substantially vertical wall portion extending upwardly from the base portion, a transition portion extending from the wall portion, and a neck portion extending from the transition portion. The neck portion is tapered and has an upper end having a wall thickness that is preferably less than the thickness of the wall of the remainder of the neck portion. The upper end of the neck portion may also be chamfered. The aluminum container of the present invention may be combined with a threaded sleeve to form a receptacle. The sleeve has an outer surface and an inner surface. The outer surface has threads thereon and the inner surface has a taper complementary to the taper of the neck portion so as to form a friction fit with the neck portion. The sleeve may also have a notch formed in the periphery of its upper outside surface. When the upper chamfered end of the neck is curled, the neck portion extends over a top end portion of the sleeve and terminates in the notch in the sleeve. Methods of manufacturing such a container are also disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention is directed to aluminum receptacles and,more particularly, to aluminum receptacles having a threaded neck forreceiving a cap.

[0003] 2. Description of the Background

[0004] It is known in the art to form drawn, or drawn and ironed, cansfrom aluminum and steel for use in the packaging of beer, soft drinks,oil, and other liquids. Most metal cans for beer and beverages areadapted to be closed with relatively flat lids or ends which are securedon the cans by double seaming or a similar process. The lids may havetear strips formed in them and pull tabs attached to the tear strips tofacilitate access to the tear strips to thereby provide an opening inthe lid.

[0005] Not all aluminum containers have flat tops. It is known in theart to use a series of necking dies on an aluminum container to form aneck on one end of the container. Threads may then be formed in the neckportion of the container by positioning first and second thread rollingtools adjacent to inside and outside surfaces, respectively, of the neckand rotatably moving the tools against the surface. Threaded aluminumcontainers have typically been made from relatively thick metal, i.e.,at least 0.020 inches thick. The material is typically pure aluminum(99.5-99.8% aluminum) which is relatively soft and permits the formingof threads in the neck.

[0006] The insides of aluminum containers are very often provided with acoating which prevents interaction between the raw aluminum and thecontents of the container. The process of forming threads on the neckportion of the container may crack and/or dislodge portions of thecoating thereby allowing the contents of the container to come intocontact with raw aluminum. Furthermore, a coating which is cracked orotherwise damaged may work loose after the container is filled therebycontaminating the contents of the container.

[0007] An improvement over forming the threads directly in the aluminumcontainer is to secure a sleeve of plastic or other material around theneck of the aluminum container. Examples of the use of such a sleeve canbe found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,235 entitled “Method and Apparatus forDie Necking a Metal Container,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,026 entitled“Assembly of Aluminum Can and Threaded Sleeve,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,352entitled “Threaded Aluminum Cans and Methods of Manufacture,” U.S. Pat.No. 5,778,723 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Necking a MetalContainer and Resultant Container,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,028 entitled“Lightweight Reclosable Can with Attached Threaded Pour Spout andMethods of Manufacture,” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,843 entitled “Method ofMaking Bottle-Shaped Metal Cans.” Very often, to prevent rotation of thesleeve on the container, small dents, ribs, slots or the like areprovided on the container and/or the sleeve. The sleeve can also beadhesively bonded to the container to prevent relative rotation.However, forming of dents, ribs, slots, or the like in the container maydamage the protective coating on the inside of the container. Therefore,the need exits for a method for securing a threaded sleeve to the neckof an aluminum container and the improved container resulting therefrom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention is directed to an aluminum containercomprising a base portion, a substantially vertical wall portionextending upwardly from the base portion, a transition portion extendingfrom the wall portion, and a neck portion extending from the transitionportion. The neck portion is tapered and has an upper end having a wallthickness that is preferably less than the thickness of the wall of theremainder of the neck portion. The upper end of the neck portion mayalso be chamfered.

[0009] The aluminum container of the present invention may be combinedwith a threaded sleeve to form a receptacle. The sleeve has an outersurface and an inner surface. The outer surface has threads thereon andthe inner surface has a taper complementary to the taper of the neckportion so as to form a friction fit with the neck portion. The sleevemay also have a notch formed in the periphery of its upper outsidesurface. When the upper chamfered end of the neck is curled, the neckportion extends over a top end portion of the sleeve and terminates inthe notch in the sleeve.

[0010] The present invention is also directed to a method of affixing asleeve to the neck of an aluminum bottle of the type having a taperedneck and wherein the sleeve has a complementary taper. The method iscomprised of positioning the sleeve onto the neck such that a portion ofthe neck extends beyond the sleeve, and curling the portion of the neckextending beyond the sleeve so that the curl covers at least a portionof the upper end of the sleeve. The curling step causes the sleeve toseat on the neck so as to form a friction fit therewith.

[0011] By providing the neck portion of the container with a taper, andproviding the threaded sleeve with a complementary taper, a friction fitcan be obtained without requiring any dimples, dents, or similarstructure in either the neck portion or the threaded sleeve. Because ofthe taper, the threaded sleeve can be easily inserted onto the neckportion of the container. Thereafter, the curling process (which curlsthe end of the neck portion extending beyond the sleeve) pushes thethreaded sleeve further down onto the neck portion of the containerthereby causing an extremely tight friction fit. By controlling theamount of the neck portion which extends beyond the threaded sleeve, andtherefore the amount of material available for curling, the threadedsleeve can be precisely positioned on the neck portion of the container.Additionally, by providing a notch in the upper outside peripheralsurface of the threaded sleeve, the curled edge of the neck portion mayterminate in the notch thereby covering the entire top edge of thethreaded sleeve as well as providing a smooth profile for the finishedreceptacle. There is no exposed aluminum, and no possibility of damagingthe protective coating on the inside of the container. Those, and otheradvantages and benefits, will become apparent from the detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments hereinbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] For the present invention to be easily understood and readilypracticed, the present invention will now be described, for purposes ofillustration and not limitation, in conjunction with the followingfigures, wherein:

[0013]FIG. 1 illustrates a container constructed according to thepresent invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 illustrates the detail of the upper end of the neck portionof the container;

[0015]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary necking die;

[0016]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the threaded sleeve;

[0017]FIG. 5 is a side view of the threaded sleeve;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a top view of the threaded sleeve;

[0019]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the threaded sleeve takenalong the lines VII-VII in FIG. 6;

[0020]FIG. 8 illustrates the combination of a container as shown in FIG.1 carrying a sleeve as shown in FIG. 4;

[0021]FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary curling die;

[0022]FIG. 10 illustrates a receptacle formed from the container andsleeve;

[0023]FIG. 11 illustrates the detail of the neck portion carrying thesleeve;

[0024]FIG. 12 illustrates a container not carrying a threaded sleeve;the container end has been curled to further illustrate the curl;

[0025] FIGS. 13-16 illustrate other shapes for the transition portion ofthe container/finished receptacle; and

[0026]FIG. 17 illustrates a cap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027]FIG. 1 illustrates a container 10 constructed according to thepresent invention. The exemplary dimensions illustrated in FIG. 1 arefor purposes of illustration and not limitation. All dimension are inmillimeters.

[0028] The container 10 is comprised of a base portion 12 from whichextends a substantially vertical wall portion 14. A transition portion16 extends from the wall portion 14 and a neck portion 18 extends fromthe transition portion 16. It is anticipated that the container 10 maybe fabricated using a well known impact extrusion process. In the impactextrusion process, a slug of substantially pure aluminum (meaningaluminum having a purity of approximately 99.5-99.8%) is impact extrudedto form a container of the desired diameter and having walls of a givenheight. After impact extrusion, the wall portion 16 may be lengthenedusing one or more dies. Thereafter, the container is trimmed to removethe uneven edges.

[0029] After trimming, the interior of the container may be coated witha protective coating of lacquer which is then cured in an oven.Thereafter, graphics may be applied to the outside of the container 10.

[0030] The typical impact extrusion process used to produce, forexample, aerosol containers, is modified after the neck portion 18 hasbeen formed through the application of a series of necking diesaccording to known processes. After the neck portion 18 has been formed,the final necking die or dies imparts a slight taper to the neck 18. Anexemplary necking die 21 is illustrated in FIG. 3. As can be seen fromthe exemplary necking die in FIG. 3, upon insertion of the container 10,the neck portion 18 is tapered such that the neck portion isapproximately 26.6 millimeters at its top and 25.2 millimeters at itsbottom. Although the taper in the preferred embodiment is approximately1°, it is anticipated that tapers of other dimensions may be used. Thedimensions shown in FIG. 3 are exemplary only.

[0031] After the neck portion 18 has been tapered, a portion of thematerial at an upper end 20 thereof is removed so that the upper end 20of the neck portion 18 has a wall thickness that is less than thethickness of the wall of the remainder of the neck portion 18 asillustrated in FIG. 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, 0.20 mm ofmaterial has been removed from the topmost 4 millimeters of the upperend 20 of the neck portion 18. Additionally, the end of the neck portion18 has been chamfered at 45°. Although the detail shown in FIG. 2 is notnecessary to obtain a friction fit between a threaded sleeve 22illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 and the neck portion 18 of the presentinvention, removal of the material and chamfering of the edge provideadvantages which will be described hereinbelow.

[0032] Turning now to FIGS. 4-7, the threaded sleeve 22 is illustrated.As seen in FIG. 4, the threaded sleeve 22 has an outer surface 24carrying threads 26 and an inner surface 28. The inner surface 28 isprovided with a taper complementary to the taper on the neck portion 18of the container 10. As seen best in FIG. 6, a top edge 29 of thethreaded sleeve 22 may have notches 30 which are a remnant of theprocess used to manufacture the sleeve 22. The exemplary dimensionillustrated in FIG. 7 are for purposes of illustration only, and notlimitation. The threaded sleeve 22 is preferably comprised of plasticbut may be comprised of a number of other materials such as aluminum orother metals.

[0033] As can be seen in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, a notch 32 is formed in theperiphery of the upper outer surface 24 and at the top edge 29 of thesleeve 22. The purpose of the notch 32 is described hereinbelow.

[0034] Turning now to FIG. 8, a container of the type illustrated inFIG. 1 is illustrated carrying a threaded sleeve 22 of the typeillustrated in FIG. 4 on the neck portion 18 of the container 10.Approximately 2-3 millimeters of the upper end 20 of the neck portion 18extends beyond the threaded sleeve 22. The final seating of the sleeve22 on the neck portion 18 can be controlled by the height by which theupper end 20 of the neck portion 18 extends beyond the threaded sleeve22 as will be described.

[0035] The container illustrated in FIG. 8 is input to a plurality ofcurling dies 34, one of which is illustrated in FIG. 9. The plurality ofcurling dies 34 is positioned around a centering mandrill, not shown.The upper end 20 of the container 10 is guided into the plurality ofcurling dies 34 through the use of the centering mandrill. Curling dies34 cause the material of the upper end 20 of the neck portion 18extending beyond the threaded sleeve 22 to be curled as seen in FIGS.10, 11, and 12. The dimensions illustrated in FIG. 9 are exemplary onlyand are not limitations on the present invention.

[0036] Turning now to FIGS. 10, 11, and 12, FIG. 10 illustrates acompleted receptacle 36. As is seen, the completed receptacle 36 iscomprised of the container 10 and the threaded sleeve 22 fastenedthereto. In the present invention, the fastening mechanism is primarilyby means of a friction fit.

[0037] As seen in greater detail in FIG. 11, the upper end 20 of theneck portion 18 is curled so that it completely covers the upper edge 29of the sleeve 22. Additionally, the curl terminates in the notch 32formed in threaded sleeve 22. As can be seen in FIG. 11, by virtue ofthe reduced thickness of the upper end 20 and the chamfer, the curlterminates in notch 32 in a manner to provide a substantially unbrokenprofile for the top of the receptacle 36. In addition, the curledportion is covered with lacquer so that there is no exposed aluminum.Finally, the curl completely covers the top edge 29, and hence thenotches 30, in the top edge 29 of the threaded sleeve 22. As with theother figures, the dimensions shown in FIG. 11 are exemplary only and donot limit the scope of the present invention.

[0038] In FIG. 12, a container 10 is illustrated which has been curledwithout the threaded sleeve. Thus, FIG. 12 provides an additionalillustration of the curl formed on the upper end 20 of the neck portion18. The dimensions shown in FIG. 12 are exemplary only and are notintended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0039] It is anticipated that the container and resulting receptacle ofthe present invention may be formed in a variety of shapes and sizes. Itis anticipated that the container and resulting receptacle may have adiameter of, for example, 35 mm-66 mm and a height of, for example, 70mm-260 mm. The transition portion 16 illustrated in FIG. 1 is referredto as a tapered shoulder. Other types of transition portions 16 mayinclude a round shoulder as shown in FIG. 13, an oval shoulder as shownin FIG. 14, an ergonomic shoulder as shown in FIG. 15, and a flatshoulder as shown in FIG. 16.

[0040]FIG. 17 illustrates a cap 38 which may be used to seal thereceptacle 36 of the present invention. The cap 38 is preferably formedof aluminum. The cap 38 has at the top thereof a material, such as PVC,which is intended to act as a liner and create a seal. The cap 38 ispositioned over the threaded sleeve 22 of the container 36. Thereafter,pressure is applied, for example, a pressure of 35 inch pounds, in adownward manner to affect the seal. While the downward pressure isapplied, thread rollers apply side pressure of, for example, 38 inchpounds, to cause the cap 38 to deform to thereby produce threadscomplementary to the threads carried by the threaded sleeve 22.

[0041] A tamper seal 42 is carried at a bottom edge 44 of the cap 38 bya plurality of breakaway members 46. As is known in the art, as the cap38 is applied to the receptacle 36, the tamper seal 42 is bent inwardly.The inward bending of the tamper seal causes the tamper seal to betucked under, for example, a bottom protrusion 48 of the threaded sleeve22 best seen in FIG. 11. With the tamper seal 42 thus positioned,removal of the cap 38 will cause the break away members 46 to break awayfrom the tamper seal 42 thereby leaving the tamper seal 42 on the neckof the receptacle while the cap 38 is removed. Cap 38, being threaded,may then be replaced on receptacle 36 to reseal it. Other types of capsand tamper seals may be provided. For example, ratchet teeth (not shown)may be formed on the bottom of threaded sleeve 22 which meet with teethheld in the tamper seal, which is connected to a cap through break awaymembers. Rotation of the cap in a clockwise direction allows the cap tobe seated while rotation in a counter-clockwise direction causes thetamper seal to break away.

[0042] While the present invention has been described in conjunctionwith preferred embodiments thereof, those of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that many modifications and variations are possible. Suchmodifications and variations fall within the scope of the presentinvention which is limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aluminum container, comprising: a baseportion; a substantially vertical wall portion extending upwardly fromsaid base portion; a transition portion extending from said wallportion; and a neck portion extending from said transition portion, saidneck portion being tapered with respect to the wall portion.
 2. Thecontainer of claim 1 wherein said taper of the neck portion isapproximately one degree.
 3. The container of claim 1 wherein saidaluminum container is comprised of pure aluminum.
 4. The container ofclaim 1 wherein said aluminum container is comprised of an aluminumalloy.
 5. The container of claim 1 wherein said transition portion has ashape selected from the group consisting of a taper, oval, round, flatand ergonomic.
 6. The container of claim 1 wherein the thickness of saidwall portion is approximately 0.7 mm.
 7. An aluminum container,comprising: a base portion; a substantially vertical wall portionextending upwardly from said base portion; a transition portionextending from said wall portion; and a neck portion extending from saidtransition portion, said neck portion having a tapered outside diameter,said neck portion having an upper end having a wall thickness that isless than the thickness of the wall of the remainder of the neckportion, said upper end of said neck portion being chamfered.
 8. Thecontainer of claim 7 wherein said taper of the neck portion isapproximately one degree and the chamfer is approximately 45 degrees. 9.The container of claim 7 wherein said aluminum container is comprised ofpure aluminum.
 10. The container of claim 7 wherein said aluminumcontainer is comprised of an aluminum alloy.
 11. The container of claim7 wherein said transition portion has a shape selected from the groupconsisting of a taper, oval, round, flat and ergonomic.
 12. Thecontainer of claim 1 wherein the thickness of said wall portion isapproximately 0.7 mm.
 13. An aluminum receptacle, comprising: analuminum container having a base portion, a substantially vertical wallportion extending upwardly from said base portion, a transition portionextending from said wall portion, and a neck portion extending from saidtransition portion, said neck portion being tapered; and a sleevecarried on said neck portion, said sleeve having an outer surface and aninner surface, said outer surface having threads thereon and said innersurface being tapered so as to form a friction fit with said neckportion, said neck portion terminating in a curled edge extending overat least a portion of said sleeve.
 14. The receptacle of claim 13wherein said taper of the neck portion is approximately one degree. 15.The receptacle of claim 13 wherein said aluminum container is comprisedof pure aluminum.
 16. The receptacle of claim 13 wherein said aluminumcontainer is comprised of an aluminum alloy.
 17. The receptacle of claim13 wherein said transition portion has a shape selected from the groupconsisting of a taper, oval, round, flat and ergonomic.
 18. Thereceptacle of claim 13 wherein the thickness of said wall portion isapproximately 0.7 mm.
 19. The receptacle of claim 13 wherein saidreceptacle is approximately 70 to 260 mm in height and approximately 35to 66 mm in diameter.
 20. The receptacle of claim 13 additionallycomprising a cap having threads for engaging the threads of said sleeve,and wherein said cap carries a tamper seal at a bottom portion thereof,said tamper seal connected to said cap by a plurality of break awaymembers.
 21. An aluminum receptacle, comprising: an aluminum containerhaving a base portion, a substantially vertical wall portion extendingupwardly from said base portion, a transition portion extending fromsaid wall portion, and a neck portion extending from said transitionportion, said neck portion having a tapered outside diameter; and asleeve carried on said neck portion, said sleeve having an outer surfaceand an inner surface, said outer surface having threads thereon and saidinner surface being tapered so as to form a friction fit with said neckportion, said sleeve having a notch form in the periphery of its upperoutside surface, said neck portion terminating in a curled edgeextending over a top end portion of the sleeve and terminating in saidnotch in said sleeve.
 22. The receptacle of claim 21 wherein said taperof the neck portion is approximately one degree.
 23. The receptacle ofclaim 21 wherein said aluminum container is comprised of pure aluminum.24. The receptacle of claim 21 wherein said aluminum container iscomprised of an aluminum alloy.
 25. The receptacle of claim 21 whereinsaid transition portion has a shape selected from the group consistingof a taper, oval, round, flat and ergonomic.
 26. The receptacle of claim21 wherein the thickness of said wall portion is approximately 0.7 mm.27. The receptacle of claim 21 wherein said receptacle is approximately70 to 260 mm in height and approximately 35 to 66 mm in diameter. 28.The receptacle of claim 21 additionally comprising a cap having threadsfor engaging the threads of said sleeve, and wherein said cap carries atamper seal at a bottom portion thereof, said tamper seal connected tosaid cap by a plurality of break away members.
 29. A method of affixinga sleeve to the neck of an aluminum container of the type having atapered neck and wherein said sleeve has a complementary taper, saidmethod comprising: positioning said sleeve onto said neck such that aportion of the neck extends beyond said sleeve; curling the portion ofthe neck extending beyond the sleeve so that the curl covers at least aportion of the upper end of said sleeve, said curling step causing saidsleeve to seat on the neck so as to form a friction fit therewith. 30.The method of claim 29 wherein the portion of the neck extending beyondthe sleeve is approximately 2-3 mm in length.
 31. The method of claim 29additionally comprising the step of decreasing the thickness of at leasta portion of that portion of the neck extending beyond said sleeve. 32.The method of claim 31 additionally comprising the step of chamferingthe upper edge of the neck.
 33. A method of affixing a sleeve to theneck of an aluminum container of the type having a tapered neck andwherein said sleeve has a complementary taper and a notch formed in theperiphery of its upper outside surface, said method comprising:positioning said sleeve onto said neck such that a portion of the neckextends beyond said sleeve; curling the portion of the neck extendingbeyond the sleeve so that the curl covers the top edge of said sleeveand terminates in said notch in said sleeve.
 34. The method of claim 33wherein the portion of the neck extending beyond the sleeve isapproximately 2-3 mm in length.
 35. The method of claim 33 additionallycomprising the step of decreasing the thickness of at least a portion ofthat portion of the neck extending beyond said sleeve.
 36. The method ofclaim 35 additionally comprising the step of chamfering the upper edgeof the neck.